When I Consider How My Light is Spent
"When I Consider How My Light is Spent" (also known as "On His Blindness") is one of the best known of the
The sonnet was first published in
It is always assumed that the poem was written after the publication of Milton's 1645 Poems. It may have been written as early as 1652, although most scholars believe that it was composed sometime between June and October 1655, when Milton's blindness was essentially complete.[6] However, most discussions of the dating depend on the assumption that Newton's title reflects Milton's intentions, which may not be true. More reliable evidence of the date of the poem comes from the fact that it appears in the "Trinity Manuscript", which is believed to contain material written between about 1631 and 1659 and that it is not written in Milton's own handwriting, but that of a scribe who also wrote out several other of the sonnets to which Milton assigned higher numbers.[7]
Haskin[8] discusses some of the likely interpretative errors that readers have made as a result of assuming that the common title of the poem is authentic. For example, the "one talent" that Milton mourns his inability to use is not necessarily his poetic ability; it might as easily be his ability to translate texts from foreign languages, the task for which he was responsible in the Commonwealth government. However, the references to light and darkness in the poem make it virtually certain that Milton's blindness was at least a secondary theme.
The sonnet is in the Petrarchan form, with the rhyme scheme a b b a a b b a c d e c d e but adheres to the Miltonic conception of the form, with a greater usage of enjambment.
Text
- When I consider how my light is spent,
- Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
- And that one Talent which is death to hide
- Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
- To serve therewith my Maker, and present
- My true account, lest he returning chide,
- “Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
- I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
- That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
- Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
- Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
- Is Kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
- And post o’er land and ocean without rest;
- They also serve who only stand and wait.”
Meaning
When Milton writes "that one talent which is death to hide" he is specifically alluding to the
Figures
References
- ^ Lowe, John (19 April 2005). "Percival eager for save chances". Detroit Free Press. p. 25. Retrieved 7 June 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Kelley, M. (1956). Milton's later sonnets and the Cambridge manuscript. Modem Philology, 54, 20-25.
- ISBN 9781405129268)
- ^ Newton, T. (1761). The poetical works of John Milton: with notes of various authors (3 vols.). London: J. and R. Tonson.
- ISBN 0-8047-3517-4)
- ^ "Milton, John: Sonnet 16 (On His Blindness )". Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database. NYU Langone Medical Center. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ^ Shawcross, J. T. (1959). Notes on Milton's amanuenses. Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 58, 29-38.
- ISBN 0-8122-3281-X)
- ISBN 0-8229-4216-X, pp. 1–18.